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95 Comments
- threon, on 06/03/2009, -0/+561) Select a random number
2) Add "Extreme" or "Turbo" to the name
3) ???
4) Profit! - inactive, on 06/03/2009, -1/+29Would someone explain the logic behind Intel's naming convention of their chips? Their decision to give names & numbers to their chips is confusing as hell.
- dfross, on 06/03/2009, -1/+17Citation needed.
http://benchmarkreviews.com/index.php?option=com_c ... shows the top end Phenom II X4 can barely pass the Q9450 - the *lowest* of the *last generation*.
It's about in the same price/performance bracket as Intel. It's hardly killing it. Admittedly this is better than AMD has done in the recent past. If you have evidence otherwise, please post it. - wTheOnew, on 06/03/2009, -3/+178 logical processors at 4Ghz on stock cooling... Bricks have been shat.
- 2uantuM, on 06/03/2009, -0/+14Who exactly is Intel "one-uping" here? Themselves?
- surfacewound, on 06/03/2009, -0/+14I can't really figure out how Intel sells enough of their Extreme line to have them keep those absurdly ridiculous prices. I'm an enthusiast that upgrades/builds a new PC regularly and while I love the idea of having a 965 or 975, the completely ludicrous price of them has kept me from even considering it.
I didn't get a 920 because this time I didn't want to overclock my system immediately, so I got a 940. It's about 90% the same (or more) at 50% of the cost. I would pay an extra $100 or so over the mid-range for the Extreme, but the price point they set it at is just absurd to me, I don't know anyone who actually gets them because of this. - divinediva, on 06/03/2009, -4/+17The semiconductor business is pretty much a ruthless and relentless game of one-upsmanship.
- t0x2c, on 06/03/2009, -0/+10Semiconductor PRODUCTION costs very little, and engineering an extreme edition is a relatively quick process when you have the base processor to go from.
In short, it's easy to release two versions, so why not? - chrislewis, on 06/03/2009, -0/+10It's the halo effect. A select few will actually buy them for epeen and brag/recommend to friends. This results in a 'shining' of Intel products.
- diggit83, on 06/03/2009, -0/+9You can always buy the non-"extreme" version of the same processor (Same core, same cache, gimped clock rate)
and just ***** overclock it......
the 200dollar chips can be easily tuned to out perform the 1k+ chips, while maintaining stability. A good heatsink/fan and a premium PSU are all that are needed. - iamthearm, on 06/03/2009, -5/+13The CEO of AMD is crying in the corner of his private jet flying somewhere over California......AGAIN!
- algorythm, on 06/03/2009, -0/+7I think CPUs are fast enough for the average user. What about I/O performance for hard drives. They haven't made large steps in this area for years.
- RoboDonut, on 06/03/2009, -0/+7Compiling code, compressing/decompressing files, encoding/decoding video/audio, raytracing, certain games, web servers, FTP servers, any other type of server, databases, and much more.
Also, it's not like you only run one application at a time. We run multi-tasking OSes for a reason. To multi-task. Sure, multitasking alone won't take up every CPU cycle of eight cores, but multi-threading is becoming far more common and one or two (maybe three) multi-threaded applications running simultaneously is enough to use all the power of that eight core processor.
That being said, eight cores doesn't mean eight times as fast. It largely depends on how much of the algorithm can be run in parallel. If only 50% of your code is parallel, then code execution speed will asymptotically approach 200% as the number of cores increases. Eight cores gets you close, but it really isn't much better than just four cores. - surfacewound, on 06/03/2009, -0/+6I think you partially misunderstood me. I never said I see no reason for Intel to have an Extreme line, I just don't get how they can sell enough to be happy with the sales figures, whatever those are.
I understand that the cost for Intel to have an Extreme line is negligible, I just believe that Intel would have great success up-selling people like me if they set the Extreme pricing far lower. I think the extra sales made as a result would more than make up for the price difference and therefore result in higher profits. - Wayms, on 06/03/2009, -0/+6When are we going to see some mid-range i7 motherboards? It seems that with the lack of enthusiast CPU competition from AMD, Intel has no reason to lower prices on their X58 chipset/i7 processors. I don't mind dishing out for a high end CPU, but when your forced to buy one of their overkill motherboards that just blows.
- joe1985, on 06/03/2009, -0/+5The i7 is not as big enough jump over the Core2Quad to justify the purchase for me. The only one I could see buying is the 920 although personally I'd buy either a Core2Quad or an Phenom II depending on whom your allegiance is with just because the price/performance is awesome on those.
- inactive, on 06/03/2009, -1/+6If you want an i7 920 get it soon,
Now there is no competition, they do not like you getting a good deal for your money by overclocking so they will can it. i7 will be high end only once i5 comes out. - 2uantuM, on 06/03/2009, -1/+6Great, so an overclocked Phenom II Black beats a stock C2Q. Overclocks are not guaranteed.
Either way, I just overclock an i7 and it's game over. - the8thbit, on 06/03/2009, -1/+6And that's just the way I like my semiconductors!
- paidhima, on 06/03/2009, -0/+5Handbrake.
- inactive, on 06/03/2009, -0/+5It's all win for us! especially when every time they one-up the prices for everything else that came tbefore drops!
Which is perfect because they are improving faster than most software requirements. - Slizzo, on 06/03/2009, -0/+5Errr... You do realize that Intel's Extreme Edition chips are unlocked as well correct?
- or3n, on 06/03/2009, -6/+10*does a little jig*
- ApokalypseNow, on 06/03/2009, -0/+4Personally, I'd recommend going in at the base level, an i7 920. With a good motherboard and cooler (less than $200), you can overclock the hell out of the things. I took my new box from 2.6ghz to 4ghz, rock solid stable, no problem. With what you'll save on the processor, you can binge on RAM and a graphics card.
- kthoma22, on 06/03/2009, -0/+4It's all about the GPGPUs.
- MindTrigger, on 06/03/2009, -0/+4That's no lie, and it will save you a fortune to get the 920 now. I have mine overclocked to 3.2GHz on AIR cooling and it does not get hot while I'm gaming. When I switch to liquid I'll be at 4Ghz easy.
- SummerofGeorge, on 06/03/2009, -2/+6someone has a small dick...
- bipolarruledout, on 06/03/2009, -0/+3Extremely Expensive Edition.
- benburned, on 06/03/2009, -2/+5awesome. too bad it's probably an insane amount of money. I'm sticking with amd - decent performance with low cost.
- Couchy, on 06/03/2009, -2/+5I just built a system with a Q9400 and its a beast. I wouldn't touch i7 until next year when the smoke clears.
- tbranham, on 06/03/2009, -0/+3You think they're bad? Try the TOY business! Those folks make Brick Top look like a sissy.
- dfross, on 06/03/2009, -1/+4Depends what you're doing. For most things, not really.
The cost of the i7 architecture is HUGE - the high end CPUs and motherboards are extortionate right now. The DDR3 isn't cheap either.
If you need the best of the best, i7 is the fastest out there. You'll get far better value from a Q9550 or similar. - ApokalypseNow, on 06/03/2009, -0/+3Oh yes, an i7 920 just as I posted. The cooler is a Thermalright U120E, which would be overkill for applications other than this. The mobo is an Asus P6T Deluxe V2. Googling for i7 920 overclocks should bring up sufficient guides on how to get from 2.6ghz to, well, anywhere you want to be, but I wouldn't go higher than 4ghz without watercooling or electrothermal.
- BlackSheep882, on 06/03/2009, -0/+3XSI
- Ricochetbiscuit, on 06/03/2009, -0/+3Agreed, the i7 920 is the best deal out there right now and 4GHz is easily done on many of these chips, with a decent aftermarket cooler. 3.6GHz is a walk in the park with a stock retail cooler.
- Slapo, on 06/03/2009, -0/+3At least these:
The GIMP can create up to 16 threads,
RawTherapee scales with CPUs (virtual or real, CPUs or cores),
RAWHide scales at least up to 4 cores,
Google Chrome creates multiple processes, so it might benefit from more cores (even if they're not physical cores),
7-zip is quite nice and scales with multiple CPUs/cores if you set it to use them.
There's probably more of those. - MindTrigger, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2ASUS P6T Deluxe is a fine motherboard. There are more expensive ones out there, but they are generally a waste of money. My P6T gave me all the overclocking settings I needed, which is all I care about.
- Whavis, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2Yeah I got my i7 920 up to 4.2ghz and it was stable with a Zalman air cooler. I don't keep it at 4.2ghz tho I usually just run it at 3.6ghz but it's possible.
- t0x2c, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2It's just the nature of the engineering process. Research comes out with minute benefits once every 6 months, and the production teams say "ok well we need a new product so lets just release this." The last major change was dropping to 32 nm, but the electronic engineers need to work out their issues with it.
- weaksnyc, on 08/14/2009, -1/+3trying too hard...
- inactive, on 06/04/2009, -0/+2i liked it. +1 from me
- dfross, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2@gizram84: That WAS the black edition, in case you didn't bother to read the article. :)
Given that a stock Phenom slightly beats a Q9450, I'm sure an overclocked Q9650 is on par at least with an overclocked Phenom. And an overclocked i7 is going to be MUCH faster.
AMD is doing better than they used to - since C2D/C2Q came out Intel has been wiping the floor with them. Now with the new Phenom X2/X4s, they are keeping pace with Intel's low end, at around the same price point. But they are not threatening them, and your statement that a Phenom II black is in any way outpacing Intel is completely false. - Foskey, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2I'm sure the cost of this new processor is absurd. But, for the enthusiast with deep pockets. This is an over clockers heaven. Kick ass Intel! Keep them coming!
- BlackSheep882, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2They will be cheaper later
- homercles337, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2My 920 is running at 3.6 with a TRUE. Im definitely happy with it.
- wTheOnew, on 06/03/2009, -0/+23.6GHz on a single core would barely bump the temperature a few degrees.
- freshgrease, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2When I built my i7 920 machine to replace my E6600 based one, I was kinda disappointed. I then ran HDTune and figured out why (20MB/S both ways). Got me two 60GB OCZ vertex ssds in RAID 0 and it flies at 280MBs/190MBs. That was like the difference between night and day.
- inactive, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2They are not increasing it, they are discontinuing the cheap ones :D
- freshgrease, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2Not everybody uses gaming or office applications as a significant deciding factor for a HPC. I use mine for 3D stuff in Blender, and it scales. More logical processors at higher speeds means less render time.
And it should be pretty obvious that the i7 ISN'T meant to be a stereotypical home user's processor since they are only dropping them into XPS and gaming rigs (Dell, HP, etc), and the i5 is coming out to take on the ordinary market. - imkrazy182, on 06/03/2009, -0/+2I agree, ram, cpu, and gpu have seen huge jumps lately but everything else is left with years old tech
The best you can do is get a mobo that has SAS and get some 15k rpm HDDs or go with expensive sata SSDs. -
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